INTRODUCTION- In 1951 Central Advisory Board of Education advised the central

government to appoint secondary education commission. The government appointed secondary

education commission on 23rd sept, 1952. Under chairmanship of Dr. Lakshamanswami
Mudaliar, the then Vice Chancellor of Madras University.

Mudaliar Commission is an education commission set up with the aim of examining the system
of secondary education in India.

The Commission prepared a questionnaire dealing with the various aspects of secondary
education. This was sent out to various educational experts, teachers and educational institutions
of India. On the basis of the replies received a good deal of information was collected. The
members of the Commission took an extensive tour of the various parts of India and acquired
first-hand knowledge of various educational problems and presented its report running on 29
Aug, 1953. The Commission had prepared a report of 244 pages which was divided
in14/15Chapters

OBJECTIVES OF MUDALIAR COMMISSION

 To study condition of contemporary secondary education and to suggest measures for its
reorganization.
 To study aims, curriculum & teaching standard of secondary education of every province in
India.
 To study pay-scales & service conditions of secondary school teachers.
 To study condition of secondary schools in every province.
 To study examination system of secondary level.

DEFECTS OF EXISTING SYSTEM

RECOMMENDATIONS OF COMMISSION

1. Development of democratic citizenship- Since India has decided to make itself a

democratic republic, the citizens have to trained to uphold practices, values of the
democratic social order. This can be possible only when the qualities of discipline,
tolerance, patriotism , co-operation, the essence of world citizenship are inculcated in the
students. Secondary education, according to Mudaliar Commission, should develop all
these qualities in students.
2. Improvement of Vocational Efficiency- One of the urgent needs of the country is to
increase the productive efficiency of its people and to increase the national income. For
this, education must aim at increasing the productivity or vocational efficiency of the
young students. To achieve this goal, the Secondary Education Commission
recommended for fostering the dignity of manual labour and for the promotion of
technical skills for the advancement of industry and technology through secondary
education.
Therefore, secondary education is to be freed from purely theoretical education system
and emphasis is to be placed on agricultural, technical, commercial and other
practical courses.
3. Education for leadership: Secondary education is a terminal point for majority of the
students. Therefore, at the end of the school education, each pupil must be able to enter
into various professions independently. "A special function of the secondary school, in
the context, is to train persons who will be able to assume the responsibility of leadership
 - in social, political, industrial or cultural fields - in their own small groups of
community or locality."
4. Development of personality: The secondary education must aim at the development of
the personality of the students. It should be so organised that the creative energy in the
students should find proper expression. They should also be trained to appreciate their
cultural heritage and acquire constructive and valuable interest.
5. Re-organisation of Secondary Education: Regarding the organizational pattern of
secondary education, the Secondary Education Commission recommended that secondary
education should be a complete stage by itself. To raise the standard of school education
the Commission proposed the following organizational pattern:
 The duration of secondary education should be 7 years. It should cover the age of
group of 11-17.
 secondary education should commence after 4 or 5 years of primary or junior basic
education.
 The middle or senior basic or lower secondary stage should cover a period of 3 years.
 The higher secondary stage should cover 3 years.
 Multi-purpose schools should be established, which would provide terminal courses
in technology, commerce, agriculture, fine arts and home sciences.
6. Curriculum In Secondary School- The Secondary Education Commission has discussed
at length the secondary education curriculum. First it pointed out the defects of the
existing curriculum, discussed in detail the principle of curriculum construction and
finally the curriculum of different stages of secondary schools.
Defects of the Existing Curriculum
The Commission has pointed out the following defects in the existing curriculum:
 The present curriculum is narrow.
 It is bookish and theoretical.
 There is no adequate provision for practical and other kinds of activities that should
find place in any curriculum at this stage of education.
 Technical and vocational subjects are very much needed for India today, but the
curriculum does not find room for these subjects.
 Curriculum is too much dominated by the examination.
 The Secondary Education Commission has recommended some principles to be followed
in the construction of curriculum.

 Principles of totality of experience- According to the Secondary Education Commission,

"The curriculum does not include only the academic subjects traditionally taught in the
school but it includes the totality of experiences that a pupil receives through manifold
activities that go in the school, in the classroom, laboratory, workshop, playground and
in numerous informal contacts between teachers and pupils." All types of experiences in
the school or planned by the school should be included in the curriculum.
 Principles of variety and elasticity- The Curriculum should be elastic and include
varieties of subjects and activities to meet the needs of the various types of pupils.
 Principles relating to community- There should be community-oriented programmes in
the curriculum so that a child can feel that he is an integral part of the local community.
 Principle of training for leisure - The Curriculum should be designed to train the
students not only for work but also for leisure. For this purpose there should be a
number of activities - social, aesthetic, sporting etc. which should be included in the
curriculum.
 Principle of integration and correlation -The curriculum should not be merely a bundle
of subjects and activities. The activities and subjects should be integrated and well -
correlated.

CURRICULUM OF DIFFERENT STAGES OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS- Refer PDF page 5-

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Merits of Commission:

 Stress on agricultural education.

 Discussion of aims of secondary education.
 Improvement in teacher’s salary and position.
 Co-curricular activities.
 Stress on multi-purpose schools.

Demerits of the Commission:

 No suggestions regarding women education.
 Overburdened & diverse curriculum
 No clear suggestion for English
 Costly multipurpose schools
 ill-defined structure of secondary education